Gauge



E. o. wHEELocK GAUGE v Filed Mayv 15, '1925 5 sheets-sheet 1 Aug. 1G, 1927.

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ra/enfon- Aug. 16 1927.

E. O.l WHEELOCK GAUGE 5 sheets-sheet 2 Filed May 15, 1925 f f4 a l 639 321 Aug 1.6.1927 E. o. WHEELOCK GAUGE Filed Mayll, 1925 5 sheets-sheet 4 l mf K n Mw |L n. "MI ma @j MHIIIIII l l l I Aug. 16 1 927.

1,639,321 E. o. wHEELocK GAUGE Filed May 15,'1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Willy@ Patented Aug. 16, 1927.

ERNEST-0. `WHR,lino0.1;, QF Benzinai); iiinrnci'is.;4

GAUGE.

Application ifuledwllllay1 15, 1925, Serial No. 30,426.`

This invention relates particularly to indi-v eatingmechanism adapted to be applied to' or embodied in snap gauges, limit gauges, and the like. y

6 Generally stated,A the object ofthe invention is to produce a relatively small, compact indicating mechanism` which may beA applied' to various types of measuring instru.

ments,- which shall givel accurateresults on 10 tine measurements, which shallj not 'be liable to injury through relatively great movement in either direction of'the movable contact point, which shall be suliiciently rugged so as to withstand rough usage, and whichinay be. constructed so as to operate accurately without excessivepiecision in manufacture@ In the accoinpanyingv drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View illustrating' one .ein-A bodiment of the present invention, a standard gauge block being shown in positionbe tween the contact points.

F igs. 2 and 3 are fragmentalviews showing` alternative constructions of thecontaotl points. y

Fig. t is a fragmental sectional' view illustrating the indicatingmechanism.

Figs. 5, 6, 7,' 8, 9v and 10 are sectional viewstalen. respectively, inthe planesy indi,- cated' bylines 5 5. 66, 7,-7, 8 8, 9 9 and 10-10 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 11 is a.- fragmental sectionalviewl of an. alternative construction. of; the yindicating mechanism.

Fig'. 12 is a section; on liney 1 2-12 ofI Fig. 13 is a fragmental'view showing the4 means whereby the implement may be conveniently held by' the operator.

Fig. 141 is a section on. line 14k-14 of Figll.

Fig. 15 is a section On 1111 1 5-15 of:

Fig. 13.

Fig. 16 is a side view illustrating analter.-

native construction..v

Fig. 1T is a rear view of the showninFiglG.

Fig. 18 is a fragmental top plan view-of,

the implement shown in Figs. y116 and 1f?.V

Fig. 19 is a fragmental;sectional view, ofA

parts shown in Fig. 16.

Fig. 20 is a section on line 20,-20. ofV

Fig, 19. Fig. Fig. 19,. y

The bodyor framework of the gauge may 21 is' a sectionA on line 21-2'1 of implement be ofl various 'shapes and constructed in any preferred'nianner. In thejfor-m shown in Figs. 1 and tY the fr ameis. substantially U-shaped andf Vcomprises what may be termed'tlie upper armflj, thel lower arm 2-and the 'connecting arm 3. The space between the arinsl and"2 constitutes a throatway 4, to receive agaugelo'lockjm orv anarticle to be,l gauged; Two contacts 5i and' 'pioject into the throatway, the contact rbeing iiXed to 'thefarni 2 ,qand` the contact G-,being slid'abl'y mountedii'iy the arm 1A in aliiiementfwith the contact 5.` The adjacentends of the contacts, 5 and 6 may4 be of'any fjorin suitedto the work inf.' hand. In Figs. 1 and' 4 the' contacts areshownns having fiat ends.y IiFig.

2 they er@ Shown as provided' with angular" -Y points 7. adapted to engage oppositeA vsides off` a collar to be gaugedon a rod' or spindle.,

while in Figf 3 the.. contacts are vshown as sh aped'j for,- engagement. with, a screw.

The contact 5 may. bel stationarily, secured to the.v arm 2 .in anyl preferred manner!- Hereinit is. shownas mountedina'n opening 8 and bearingagalnst a, plugl 9 screwed'into the lower endof said; opening. The contact 5 isl rigidly secured` in the opening- 8 by,

means of.Y a screw 140'` (Fig. 1 0)V havinga y beveled.` shoulder 1,1 arrangedy to bear against the contact. The contact Gis in the form of, a. plunger slidably mounted in anopening 12 formedy in the arm 1 in alinementwith 1the openingL 8. The plunger, 6 is. pressed toward thel fixed` contact, 5 by. means, of. an. expansive coiled' spring 13 interposedbetween. theupper end of, the, Contact plunger and a,

screw 14. seated, ink Ithe* upper end of the opening@ 12. The' strength. bf. this spring, may be varied to .suit` diiferent. conditions, ofA work.,

Inthe embodimentshereim shownE of the invention, the indicating mechanism. is` lo y cated within, the Usha pe.d framework, or gauge and more specifically. within a chain- 'ben or, recess found. in the arms. 1, and 3.

The indicating mechanism includes a pointer 15 (Figsg and 6) fixedzupon, an arbor. 16. Thevarbor.- is pivotally supported in bearingv blocks: 1l and 18 (Fig,` The bear.- ing bloclcl. itstiglitly. within arecess ina bracket- 19, which. isy secured, to the framework of the gauge by meansof a s crewj20. Anv1 opening l2,1 {Fig} 7.), is formed in the bracket 19 so that the bearing block 17 may be driven out of its .seat when it is necessary to replace the bearing. The bearingblock 18 fits tightly within an opening 22 in the arm 3. rlhe opening 22 extends through the arm and contains a block 23 against whichV the arbor 16 and anchored at its other enr to the arm 3 at 26 tends to swing the pointe. 15 to the plus side of the Zero mark on the dial 24. The means for swinging the pointer in the opposite direction is arranged to be actuated by the contact plunger 6 by means to be now described. A contact lever 2'? is pivoted on the arm 1 at 28. @ne arm of the lever 27 has a rounded surface 27a (Fig. 8) which lies in contact with the rounded, relatively thin edge 29 of a hardened bearing piece 29 carried by the contact plunger 6. The other arm of the lever 27 underlies the free end` of a curved relatively sti leaf Vspring 30 adjustably secured to an indicator lever 31. In the construction herein shown one end of the leaf spring 30 is anchored to the lever 31 at 32. An adjusting screw 33 extends through thekleaf spring 30 about midway its ends and is tapped into an angular lug 34 on the indicator lever 31 whereby the position of the free end of the leaf spring 30 may be accurately adjusted. 1t will be seen that the lever 31 and the free end of the spring 30 constitute a bell-crank lever, the lever arm 31 being much longer than the arm 30, whereby a relatively great movement of the pointer isproduced by a small movement of the arm 30.

The indicator lever 31 is rigidly secured to an arbor 35 which is supported in bearings substantially like those for the arbor 16. One of the bearings for the arbor 35 is carried by a bracket 36. Pins 37 and 38 set `within the bracket 36 serve to limit the swinging movements of the pointer 15.

On the lower end of the indicator lever 31 is a pin 39 which lies within a longitudinal slot 40 formed in the lower arm of the pointer 15. 41 is a counter-weight secured to said pointer arm.

In order to swing the pointer 15 toward or across the minus side of the dial and to -prevent backlash of the lever 27, 1 provide a torsion spring 42 coiled about the pivot of said lever and bearing at one end against the framework of the gauge and at its other end against a stud 43 on the lever 27. lf desired, the spring 42 may be sufficiently strong so as to render the use of spring 13 unnecessary, particularly when a very light pressure will suffice.

Referring to Fig. 4: It will be seen that upward movement of the contact plunger 6 will cause the inner end of the contact ever 2?' to move downwardly, the leaf spring 30 following said lever arm under the action of the hair spring 25 exerted through the pointer arm 40, pin 39 and indicator lever 31, the 'pointer swinging to the plus side of the dial. if upward movement of the contact plunger be continued far enough the pointer 15 will stop against the pin 37, after which continued upward movement of the lever 2"? will cause said lever to leave the leaf spring 30. Downward movement of the plunger 6 will cause the pointer to swing to the minus side of the dial under the actionv of the spring 42, the spring 30 yielding if the plunger movement continues after the pointer stops against the pin 38.

The vmeans for manually operating the contact plunger 6 comprises a lever V44 mounted between its ends upon a pivot 45 set in the arm 1. @ne arm of the lever 44 engages a. hardened bearing point 46 carried by the contact plunger 6. The other arm of the lever 44 entends through a slot 47 (Fig. 9) formed in a plunger 48 which is slidably mounted in openings 49 and 50 in the gauge framework. Y L

@n the upper lend of the plunger 48 is a sol thumb piece 51 (Fig. 4). Downward movement of the contact plunger 6 under the action of the expansion spring 13 is limited by contact of an annular shoulder 52 on'the plunger 48 with the inner side of the cover plate 53 which encloses the indicator mecha# msm. The cover plate 53 is secured in place by means of screws 54.

lfeans is provided whereby the gauge may be conveniently and securely held in the hand. Herein is shown a fingerhole 55 (Fig. 13) formed in the lower corner of the gauge framework and a ring 56 having a stem 57 which is vpivoted at 58 to a bifurcated lug 58a'on the gauge framework. As indicated in Fig. 13 the ring 56 may be swung into the position most convenient for the operator, or to permit the gauge toY be placed in a case. 1t will be apparent that when the fingers are inserted inthe rings IDO 55 and 56 and the thumb placed upon the thumb piece 51 the gauge may be securely held, even though the operators hand be wet or oily.

lf desired, a heat-insulated or other suitable handle may be substituted for the ring 56, such handle being attached by means of the contactplunger 6y is being; raised',V said plunger may be raised as far asmay be necessary in reaching over projections or over a wall surroundingarecess, thereby permitv ting a relatively great range of movement without interfering with or stressing the indicating lever 3l and the pointer l5. Since the indicator lever arm 30l is yieldable, the contact plunger 6 may move in either direction after the 'pointer 15v has ceased to register without injury toV the indicating mechanism.

The provision of the leaf spring 30 with its adjustingscrew 33 permits of adjust ment in assembling the parts so t-hat exact thousandths or fractional parts of a thou-y sandths can be registered on the dial, and thus obviates the necessity for the precisiony in manufacture which would be required if the bell crank 30, Slwere rigid.

In Fig. 11 I havel shown an alternative construction wherein the contact lever 27a rand the operating lever 44 are engaged is arranged to bear against one end of the lever 44a. Downward movement of the contact plunger 6n under the action of the expansion springltl is limited by contactof the lever 44a with the adjacent wall of the recess in which it is mounted.

The form of indicating mechanism disclosed in Figs. 1 and 14 is very compact and may be made relatively small without 'sacrificing the strength and vruggedness essential in a mechanism Which is liable to receive rough usage. Because of these char` acteristics the mechanism herein shown lends itself readily to embodiment in gauges of various forms. In Fig. 16, for example, I have shown a snap gauge having a two part body or frame which'consists of an arm 1a and an arm 61 which is detachably secured to the arm 1a by means of a nut 62 and screw stud 63 (Fig. 19). The frame part 1au carries a Contact plunger 6, while the frame part 61 carries an adjustable contact 5. Indicating mechanism substantially similar to that shown in Fig. 4 may be enclosed within a recess formed in the arm 1a. The lever 44h (Fig. 19) extends through a slot 64 (Fig. 20) and through aslot 65 formed in the arm 61.1 The arm 61carries an operating plunger 48h which is slidably mounted in an opening 49h in the arm 61.y

As shown in Fig', 19V the. end of the operateable forwork of various dimensions and' forms.

In setting` the pointer 15l to zero, aL stand'- ard size block or the part which it is desired' toy duplicate, isV placed betweenvv the conftacts and 6, and the contact 5 is adjusted:

up or down `by means of the screw 9 untilV the pointer 15 is atthe zero mark, whereupon the contact 5 vis locked in adjustedpo sitionby means of the clamping screw 10. By referring occasionally to the standard size block orV part, used in. setting up the' gauge, variations caused by temperature ini.U

handling can be detected made accordingly.

The indicating mechanism isl of sim-ple, sturdy construction andl will retain its ac'- curacy under the most severe usage. rlhere are nof gears, racks, Worms yor complicatedsystem of levers to create friction and Wear or get out of order. vThe bell crank lever 30, 31 and the p0inter'15 are the onlyparts which require mounting' in carefully littcd bearings, and by adopting the form of bearings herein shown there Will be practically no friction or' wear to co-ntendwith.

I claim as my invention:

1, A gauge having, in combination, a

and vallowance chambered U-shape gauge bodycom-prisinganupper arm, .a lower arm and.' a connecting arm, a.l contact on the lower arm., a dial car-- ried by the upper arm., ay pointer pivoted within the connecting arm, a spring connected to the pointer and tending to move the latter across the dial, a bell crank lever pivoted within the gaugel body and having one arm. connected Withlvthe pointer, al contact lever pivoted within the upper arm; and en-L gaging the other arm of tl'iebell crank lever, a spring acting upon the contactlever and tending to move the latterin the direction to swing the pointer in opposition to the first-mentioned spring, slidably mounted in the to said contact, one arm engaging said upper arm opposite ofthe contact lever plunger, a spring acting up` on the contact plunger to press the latter against'a part'to be gauged, an operating lever pivoted within the upper arm, one arm of saidr lever engaging the contact plunger, and adigitally actuated plunger carried by the gauge body and engaging the other arm of the operating lever. i

2. A gauge having, in combination, a chambered U-shape gauge body, a dial carried by said body, a pointer pivoted withiny the body, and tending to'move the latter across the a Contact plunger l a spring connected tothe pointer 'ino' dial, a bell crank lever pivoted Within the gauge body and havinga pin-and-slot connection With the pointer, a contact lever pivoted Within the gauge body and engaging one arm of the bell crank lever, a spring acting upon the contact lever and tending to move the latter in the direction to swing the pointer in opposition to the irst-mentioned spring, a contact plunger slidably mounted in the gauge body, a contact supported by the gauge body opposite to said contact plunger, one arm of the contact lever engaging said plunger, a spring acting upon the contact plunger to press the latter against a part to be gauged, an operating lever pivoted Within the gauge body, one arm ot said operating lever engaging the contact plunger, and a digitally-actuated plunger carried by the gauge body and engaging the other arm ot the operating lever.

3. fr gauge having, in combination, a chambered Ee-shape gauge body, a dial carried by said body, a pointer pivoted Within the body, a spring connected to the pointer and tending to move the latter across the dial,y a bell crank lever pivoted Within the gauge body and connected with the pointer, a contact lever pivoted Within the gauge body and engaging one arm ot the bell crank lever, a contact plunger slidably mounted in the gauge body, a contact supported by the gauge body opposite to said contact plunger, one arm or the contact lever engaging said plunger, a spring acting upon the contact plunger to press the latter against a part to be gauged, an operating lever pivoted Within the gauge body, one arm ot said operlever engaging the contact plunger, and digitally-actuated plunger carried by the gauge body and engaging the other arm of the operating lever. Y

il. fr gauge having, in combination, a chambered U-shape gauge body, a dial carried by said body, a pointer pivoted within the body, spring connected to the pointer and tending toI move the latter across the dial, a bell crank lever pivoted Within the gauge body and connected with the pointer, a contact- 'lever pivoted Within the gauge body and engaging one arm of the bell crank lever, a contact plunger slidably mounted in the gauge body, a contact supported by the gauge body opposite to said contact plunger, one arm ot the contact lever engaging said plunger, a spring acting upon the contact plunger to press the latter against a part to be gauged, and an operating lever tor moving the contact plunger in opposition to the spring.

5. A gauge having, in combination, a chambered t-sliape gauge body, a dial carried by said body, a pointer pivoted Within the body, a spring connected to the pointer and tending to move the latter across the dial, a bell crank lever pivoted within the 1,639,3a1 i y gauge body and having one arm connected with the pointer, a contact lever pivoted'` within the gauge body and engaging the other arm or' the bell crank lever, a contact plunger slidably mounted in the gauge body, a contact supported by the gauge body opposite to said contact plunger, a spring acting upon the contact plunger to press the latter againsta part to be gauged, an operating lever pivoted Within the gauge body, the contact lever and the operating lebeing arranged to be moved by the con# tact plunger, and a digitally-actuated plunger carried by the gauge body and engaging the operating lever. I

6. An indicating gauge having, in combination, a body, a dial carried by the body, a jointe pivotally supported by the body, a relatively liebt spring connected to the pointer and tending to move the latter across the dial in a certain direction, a bell crank lever pivotally supported-by the body, one arm ot which lever is much longer than the other, the long arm of said bell vcrank lever having` a pin-and-slot connection with the pointer and the short arm' being somewhat yieldable, a contact member movably supported by the body, a contact supported by the body opposite to said Contact member, a relatively strong spring to press said contact member against a part to be gauged, said ContactY member having a separable connection with and being arranged to exert pressure against the short bell crank arm and thus swing the bell crank lever and the pointer in opposition to the first-mentioned spring. and meansV to limit pivotal movement ot the pointer in either direction, the short bell crank arm yielding when the pointer engages one of said limiting means, and the connection between the contact member and the short 1ell crank arm separating when the pointer engages the other limiting means.

7. An indicating gauge having, in combination, body, a dial carried by the body, a pointer pivotally supported by the body, a relatively light spring connected to the pointer and tending to move the latter 'across the dial in a certain direction, a bell crank lever pivotally supported by the body, one arm ot which lever is much longer than the other, the long arm of said bell crank lever' being connected with the pointer and the short arm being somewhat yieldable, a con` tact member niovably"supported by the body, a contact supported bv the body opposite to said contact member, and means including r' a relatively strong spring to press said con act member against a part to be gauged, af d means being arranged to exert pressure gainst the short bell crank arml and thus swing; the bell crank lever and the Vpointer in the other direction in opposition to the irstementioned spring, and means tolimitpivotal movement of the point-cr in the lastmentioned direction, the short bell crank arm yielding when the pointer engages said limlting means.

8. An indicating gauge having, in combination, a body, a dial carried by the body, a pointer pivotally supported by the body, a relatively light Spring connected to the pointer and tending' to move the latter across the dial in a certain direction, a bell crank lever pivotally supported by the body, one arm of which lever is much longer than the other, the long` arm of' said bell crank lever being connected with the pointer, a contact member movably supported by the body, a contact supported by the body opposite to said contact member, and a relatively strong spring to press said contact member against a part to be ganged, said contact member having' a separable connection with the short bell crank arm to swing the bell crank lever and the pointer in the other direction in opposition to the first-mentioned spring, and means to limit pivotal movement of the pointer in the rstmentioned direction, the connection between the contact member and the short bell crank arm separating when the pointer engages said limiting means.

9. An indicating gauge for use in determining dimensions of parts comprising, in combination, a dial, a pointer pivoted to swing across the dial, a spring operatively connected to the pointer and tending to swing said pointer in a certain direction, a bell crank lever, one arm of which has a pin-and-slot connection with said pointer,`a contact lever arranged to engage the other arm of thel bell crank lever, a spring tending to move-the contact lever in the direction to move the pointer in opposition to the iirstnnentioned spring, means for manually swinging the contact lever in the opposite direction, a contact movable with the contact lever, and a'cooperating contact opposite the first mentioned contact.

10. An indicating' gauge for use in determining dimensions of parts comprising, in combination, a dial, a pointer pivoted to swing across the dial, a spring operatively connected to the pointer and tending to swing said pointer in a certain direction, a bell crank lever, one arm of 'which-is connected with said pointer, a Contact lever arranged to bear against the other arm of the bell crank lever, a spring tending to move the Contact lever in the direction to press against said bell crank lever arm and thus move the pointer in opposition to the firstmentioned spring, means for manually swinging lthe contact lever in the opposite direction to withdraw the contact lever from said bell crank lever arm, a contact movable with the contact lever, and a cooperating contact opposite the iirst mentioned contact.

ll. A snap gauge having a U-shape gauge body, said body having an opening to receive a finger, a finger ring having a stem pivoted to said body adjacent to said opening, a thumb-operable plunger mounted on the gauge body in a posit-ion to be actuated by the thumb when two fingers of' the same hand are inserted in said opening and said finger ring, a contact movable by said plunger, and a cooperating contact opposite the first mentioned contact.

12. An indicating gauge for use in determining dimensions ofl parts comprising, in combination, a dial, a pointer pivoted lto swing across the dial, a spring operatively connected to the pointer and tending to swing said pointer in a certain direction, a bell crank lever, one arm of which is connected with said pointer, a contact lever arranged to bear against the other arm of the bell crank lever, said other arm being adjustable with relation to the first mentioned arm, a spring' tending to move the contact lever in the direction to press against said bell crank lever arm and thus move the pointer in opposition to the first-mentioned spring, means for manually swinging the cont-act lever in the opposite direction to withdraw the contact lever from said bell crank lever arm, a contact movable with the contact lever, and a cooperating contact opposite the first mentioned contact.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto affixed my signature.A

lERNEST O. WHEELOCK. 

